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RachelSussman_2010G-_世界上最古老的生物_
This strange-looking plant is called the Llareta. 这种长得很奇怪的植物叫做紧密小鹰芹。
strange-looking:样子奇怪的;
What looks like moss covering rocks is actually a shrub comprised of thousands of branches, each containing clusters of tiny green leaves at the end and so densely packed together that you could actually stand on top of it. 看起来像石头上长满了苔藓 但其实是一种灌木 由成千上万条枝干组成, 每条枝端都有一簇小绿叶 它们紧密地长在一起 你甚至可以站在整株植物上面
moss:n.苔藓;泥沼;vt.使长满苔藓; shrub:n.灌木;灌木丛; comprised:v.包含(comprise的过去分词);由…组成; clusters:n.[植]簇;丛(cluster的复数形式);[计]群集; densely:adv.浓密地;密集地;
This individual lives in the Atacama Desert in Chile, and it happens to be 3,000 years old. 这种植物生活在智利的阿卡塔玛沙漠, 已有三千年的历史了。
individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的;
It also happens to be a relative of parsley . 它是欧芹的近亲。
relative:adj.相对的;有关系的;成比例的;n.亲戚;相关物;[语]关系词;亲缘植物; parsley:n.荷兰芹,欧芹;
For the past five years, I've been researching, working with biologists and traveling all over the world to find continuously living organisms that are 2,000 years old and older. 在过去这五年里,我一直做这方面的研究, 同生物学家一起 周游世界 寻找至今仍生存的古老生物 它们至少有两千年历史或者更加久远。
biologists:n.生物学家(biologist的复数); continuously:adv.连续不断地; organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体;
The project is part art and part science. 这个项目有一部分是艺术一部分是科学。
There's an environmental component . 也有一定的环境因素在里面。
component:n.成分;部件;组成部分;adj.构成的;
And I'm also trying to create a means in which to step outside our quotidian experience of time and to start to consider a deeper timescale . 而且我还试图寻找一种方式 站在我们司空见惯的时间观之外 开始考虑一个更深一层的时间跨度。
quotidian:adj.每日的;平凡的;每日发作的;n.每天发生的事;日发疟; timescale:时间量程;时标;
I selected 2,000 years as my minimum age because I wanted to start at what we consider to be year zero and work backward from there. 我选择2000年为最低年限 因为我想从我们所认为的零年开始 然后从那时开始逆时间研究。
minimum:n.最低限度;最小值;最少量;极小量;adj.最低的;最小的;最低限度的; backward:adj.向后的;反向的;发展迟缓的;adv.向后地;相反地;
What you're looking at now is a tree called Jomon Sugi , living on the remote island of Yakushima. 你们现在看见的这棵树叫做绳纹杉, 生活在日本偏僻的矢久岛
Sugi:n.(日)日本雪松(等于Japanesecedar); remote:adj.偏远的;偏僻的;遥远的;久远的;
The tree was in part a catalyst for the project. 这棵树是我开始做这个项目的催化剂
catalyst:n.[物化]催化剂;刺激因素;
I'd been traveling in Japan without an agenda other than to photograph, and then I heard about this tree that is 2,180 years old and knew that I had to go visit it. 那时我在日本旅行 除了拍些照片没有别的事情做 当我听说了这棵树 有2180年的历史了 我知道我必须去看看
agenda:n.议事日程;
It wasn't until later, when I was actually back home in New York that I got the idea for the project. 之后不久,我回到纽约的家里 我想到了做这个项目的主意。
So it was the slow churn , if you will. 所以这个过程慢慢形成的
churn:v.剧烈搅动;(使)猛烈翻腾;反胃,恶心;感到不安;n.搅乳器;
I think it was my longstanding desire to bring together my interest in art, science and philosophy that allowed me to be ready when the proverbial light bulb went on. 我想这一直都是我的愿望 把我的兴趣都综合到一起 艺术方面的,科学方面的,哲学方面的 这使得我做好了准备 当灵感来到时抓住了机会。
longstanding:adj.长期存在的;长时间的; philosophy:n.哲学;哲理;人生观; proverbial:adj.谚语的;众所周知的;谚语式的; light bulb:n.灯泡;
So I started researching, and to my surprise, this project had never been done before in the arts or the sciences. 所以我开始做些背景研究,令我诧异的是 从未有人做过这个事情 无论是艺术界还是科学界。
And -- perhaps naively -- 而且,当然可能很天真,
naively:adv.无邪地;天真烂漫地;
I was surprised to find that there isn't even an area in the sciences that deals with this idea of global species longevity . 我惊奇地发现在科学研究中竟然没有这样一个分支领域 研究有关 全球物种寿命的课题
global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; longevity:n.长寿,长命;寿命;
So what you're looking at here is the rhizocarpon geographicum, or map lichen, and this is around 3,000 years old and lives in Greenland, which is a long way to go for some lichens . 你们现在看到的是 是地图地衣 它已经有三千来岁了 生活在格陵兰岛 我真是为了这些地衣跑很远的路去了趟格陵兰岛
lichens:n.[植]地衣(lichen的复数);地衣类;v.使长满地衣(lichen的三单形式);
Visiting Greenland was more like traveling back in time than just traveling very far north. 探访格陵兰岛就像 进行时光倒流的旅行 而不仅仅是在极北处旅行。
It was very primal and more remote than anything I'd ever experienced before. 那里非常原始也更为偏僻一些 远远超出我以前所经历的。
primal:adj.原始的; n.被压抑童年情绪的释放; vt.释放(被压抑的童年情绪);
And this is heightened by a couple of particular experiences. 一些特别的经历也为此行增光不少
heightened:v.(使)加强,提高,增加;(heighten的过去式和过去分词)
One was when I had been dropped off by boat on a remote fjord , only to find that the archeologists I was supposed to meet were nowhere to be found. 一次我乘船前往 一个偏僻的峡谷 发现本应该在那里见面的几个考古学家 根本不在那里
fjord:n.[地理]峡湾(等于fiord); archeologists:n.考古学家(archeologist的复数形式); supposed:adj.误信的;所谓的;v.认为;假设;设想;(suppose的过去分词和过去式) nowhere:v.无处; n.无处; adj.不存在的;
And it's not like you could send them a text or shoot them an e-mail, so I was literally left to my own devices . 而我又不能给他们发短信或者发邮件 所以我真的只能靠我带的那些装备了。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数);
But luckily, it worked out obviously, but it was a humbling experience to feel so disconnected . 但幸运的是,很显然,最后我成功了。 但那是一次惨痛的经历 有深深的隔离感
humbling:adj.令人羞辱的;v.羞辱(humble的ing形式);使…谦恭;使…卑贱; disconnected:adj.分离的; v.切断(煤气、水或电的供应); (disconnect的过去式和过去分词)
And then a few days later, we had the opportunity to go fishing in a glacial stream near our campsite , where the fish were so abundant that you could literally reach into the stream and grab out a foot-long trout with your bare hands. 几天后 我们有个机会去条冰川形成的河里钓鱼 就在我们营地旁边 河里有好多鱼 你把手伸进水里 就能徒手抓到条一英尺长的鳟鱼。
glacial:adj.冰的;冰冷的;冰河时代的; campsite:n.营地; abundant:adj.丰富的;充裕的;盛产; grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物; trout:n.鳟鱼;鲑;鲑鳟鱼;恶婆子;v.钓(捕)鳟鱼; bare:adj.空的;赤裸的,无遮蔽的;v.露出,使赤裸;
It was like visiting a more innocent time on the planet. 那次经历就像是探访 地球上一个很原始的时期。
innocent:adj.无辜的;无罪的;无知的;n.天真的人;笨蛋;
And then, of course, there's the lichens. 下面我们来说说这种地衣。
These lichens grow only one centimeter every hundred years. 它每长一厘米 需要一百年时间。
I think that really puts human lifespans into a different perspective . 我认为这使得人类的生命周期 以一种不同的角度展示在我们面前。
lifespans:n.寿命;预期生命期限;预期使用期限; perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的;
And what you're looking at here is an aerial photo take over eastern Oregon . 大家现在看见的图片 是航拍的东俄勒冈州的一幅照片。
aerial:adj.从飞机上的;空中的;空气中的;地表以上的;n.天线; take over:接管;继承;接收;接任;接替; eastern:adj.东方的;向东的;东部的;东方国家的;n.东方人;东正教信徒; Oregon:n.俄勒冈州(美国州名);
And if the title "Searching for Armillaria Death Rings," 如果说“寻找重蜜环菌死亡圈”这样一个题目
sounds ominous , it is. 听起来很不祥的话,事实的确如此。
ominous:adj.预兆的;不吉利的;
The Armillaria is actually a predatory fungus , killing certain species of trees in the forest. 重蜜环菌实际上是一种捕食性真菌, 在森林中捕杀特定种类的树木。
predatory:adj.掠夺的,掠夺成性的;食肉的;捕食生物的; fungus:n.真菌,霉菌;菌类;
It's also more benignly known as the honey mushroom or the " humongous fungus" 人们也亲切地称之为 蜜菇,或者“巨型菌”
benignly:adv.亲切地;仁慈地; humongous:adj.巨大无比的,极大的;
because it happens to be one of the world's largest organisms as well. 因为它也是 世界上最大的生物之一。
So with the help of some biologists studying the fungus, 在几位研究这种真菌的生物学家的帮助下,
I got some maps and some GPS coordinates and chartered a plane and started looking for the death rings, the circular patterns in which the fungus kills the trees. 我装上几张地图,几个GPS 包了架小飞机 开始寻找死亡圈, 寻找一种圆圈 它能杀死圈在其中的树木。
coordinates:n.[数]坐标;相配之衣物;v.使协调;使调和(coordinate的第三人称单数形式); chartered:adj.受特许的;v.特许建立(charter的过去分词); circular:adj.圆形的; n.(同时送达很多人的)印刷信函(或通知、广告);
So I'm not sure if there are any in this photo, but I do know the fungus is down there. 虽然我不确定这张照片里面是否拍到了蜜环菌, 但是我确定它就在树下面。
And then this back down on the ground and you can see that the fungus is actually invading this tree. 以及这后面的地表, 大家可以看见真菌其实正在侵蚀这棵树。
invading:v.武装入侵;侵略;侵犯;涌入;干扰(invade的现在分词)
So that white material that you see in between the bark and the wood is the mycelial felt of the fungus, and what it's doing -- it's actually slowly strangling the tree to death by preventing the flow of water and nutrients . 大家看见的这些白色的东西 在树擦破的皮与木头之间的部位 就是这种菌的菌丝体, 它怎样侵蚀树木呢……它实际上 会使树木枯竭而死 截止树木中水和养分的传输。
bark:n.树皮; v.(狗)吠叫; mycelial:adj.菌丝的; strangling:v.扼死;掐死;抑制;压制;扼杀;(strangle的现在分词) nutrients:营养盐;[食品]营养素;
So this strategy has served it pretty well -- it's 2,400 years old. 而这一方式却使蜜环菌自身受益颇多。 它已有2400年的历史了。
strategy:n.策略;行动计划;部署;战略;
And then from underground to underwater . 接下来我们从地下转入水中来看看。
underwater:adj.在水中的;水面下的;adv.在水下;n.水下;
This is a Brain Coral living in Tobago that's around 2,000 years old. 这是生活在多巴哥海岸的脑珊瑚 大约2000多岁。
Coral:n.珊瑚;珊瑚虫;adj.珊瑚的;珊瑚色的;
And I had to overcome my fear of deep water to find this one. 我不得不克服深水恐惧症去寻找它。
overcome:vt.克服;胜过;vi.克服;得胜;
This is at about 60 feet or 18 meters, depth. 大概有60英尺深, 大概18米吧。
And you'll see, there's some damage to the surface of the coral. 大家可以看见脑珊瑚表面有些破损。
That was actually caused by a school of parrot fish that had started eating it, though luckily, they lost interest before killing it. 这是由于一群小吻鹦嘴鱼 吃了它一段时间。 然而幸好,它们在彻底杀死这个脑珊瑚前失去了兴趣
Luckily still, it seems to be out of harm's way of the recent oil spill . 更为幸运的是,它好像没有受到 这次原油泄漏的伤害。
spill:v.溢出;涌出;蜂拥而出;n.跌落;洒出(量);泼出(量);溢出(量);
But that being said, we just as easily could have lost one of the oldest living things on the planet, and the full impact of that disaster is still yet to be seen. 虽说如此,我们每时每刻都有可能失去 地球上任何古老的生物, 而这一灾难对我们的影响 仍未被我们察觉。
impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; disaster:n.灾难,灾祸;不幸;
Now this is something that I think is one of the most quietly resilient things on the planet. 现在给大家看下我认为 是世界上适应能力最强的生物之一。
resilient:adj.弹回的,有弹力的;
This is clonal colony of Quaking Aspen trees, living in Utah , that is literally 80,000 years old. 它属于无性繁殖的菌落 寄生于生长在美国犹他州的一种杨树上, 毫不夸张地说它已经有八万岁了。
clonal:adj.无性系的;无性繁殖系般的; colony:n.殖民地;移民队; Quaking:n.白扬; Aspen:adj.山杨的;类似白杨的;颤抖的;n.山杨; Utah:n.美国犹他州;
What looks like a forest is actually only one tree. 看上去像是一片森林 而事实上只是一棵树。
Imagine that it's one giant root system and each tree is a stem coming up from that system. 可以把它想象成一个庞大的根系 每棵树都只是一个茎 从根系上长出来。
giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的 stem:n.花草的茎或梗;高脚酒杯的脚;烟斗柄;词干;v.阻止;封堵;遏止;
So what you have is one giant, interconnected , genetically identical individual that's been living for 80,000 years. 所以大家看到的就是一个巨大的, 互相连接的, 有着统一基因的个体植株 而它已经存活了八万年了。
interconnected:adj.连通的;有联系的;v.互相连接(interconnect的过去式); genetically:adv.从遗传学角度;从基因方面; identical:adj.同一的;完全相同的;n.完全相同的事物;
It also happens to be male and, in theory immortal . 而且这是棵雄性植株, 理论上说是不育的。
immortal:adj.不朽的;神仙的;长生的;n.神仙;不朽人物;
(Laughter) （笑）
This is a clonal tree as well. 现在这棵也是无性繁殖树种。
This is the spruce Gran Picea, which at 9,550 years is a mere babe in the woods. 它叫格兰云杉 9550年前, 它只是树林中的一株幼苗。
spruce:vi.打扮整齐;使显干净;adj.整洁的;vt.打扮整齐;n.云杉; Gran:abbr.全球救援警报网(GlobalRescueAlarmNetwork); mere:adj.仅仅的;只不过的;n.小湖;池塘;
The location of this tree is actually kept secret for its own protection. 这棵树的实际位置 是出于自我保护被隐藏起来了。
location:n.地方;地点;位置;定位
I spoke to the biologist who discovered this tree, and he told me that that spindly growth you see there in the center is most likely a product of climate change. 我咨询过发现这棵树的生物学家, 他告诉我,我们看到位于中间部分细长的植株 很有可能是气候变化的产物。
spindly:adj.细长的;纺锤形的;
As it's gotten warmer on the top of the mountain, the vegetation zone is actually changing. 随着山顶气温的升高, 植被带也相应变化。
vegetation:n.植被;植物,草木;呆板单调的生活;
So we don't even necessarily have to have direct contact with these organisms to have a very real impact on them. 所以我们并不是非要 与这些植物直接接触 就能对它们产生切实的影响。
necessarily:adv.必要地;必定地,必然地; contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系;
This is the Fortingall Yew -- no, I'm just kidding -- this is the Fortingall Yew. 现在这个是紫杉。 我只是开玩笑。 这个才是紫杉。
(Laughter) （笑）
But I put that slide in there because I'm often asked if there are any animals in the project. 我把这张幻灯片放在这里 是因为经常有人问在我的这个项目中有没有动物。
And aside from coral, the answer is no. 除珊瑚以外, 没有其他任何动物。
Does anybody know how old the oldest tortoise is -- any guesses? 在座有人知道年龄最大的龟几岁了么？ 有人想猜猜么？
(Audience: 300.) （听众:300岁。）
Rachel Sussman: 300? No, 175 is the oldest living tortoise, so nowhere near 2,000. 雷切尔素斯曼:300岁么？其实是,175岁。 这是年纪最大的龟了, 而且远远不足2000岁。
And then, you might have heard of this giant clam that was discovered off the coast of northern Iceland that reached 405 years old. 还有,大家可能听说过 一只巨大的蛤蜊 发现于冰岛北部的海边 已经有405岁了。
clam:n.蛤;蛤蜊;蚌;v.挖蛤;保持沉默;嘴紧;
However, it died in the lab as they were determining its age. 但是,它在实验室里死掉了 正是在我们鉴定它年龄的时候。
determining:v.查明;测定;准确算出;决定;支配;裁决;(determine的现在分词)
The most interesting discovery of late, I think is the so-called immortal jellyfish , which has actually been observed in the lab to be able to be able to revert back to the polyp state after reaching full maturity . 我觉得近来最有趣的发现 就是所谓的永生水母, 在实验室中观察到 它能够回复到水螅虫状态 在此之前历经了整个生命周期。
so-called:adj.所谓的;号称的; jellyfish:n.水母;[无脊椎]海蜇;软弱无能的人; observed:adj.观察的;观测的;v.观察;遵守;注意到(observe的过去分词形式); revert:vi.回复;重提;返祖遗传;归还;vt.使回复原状;n.恢复原状者; polyp:n.息肉;珊瑚虫;水螅虫; maturity:n.成熟;到期;完备;
So that being said, it's highly unlikely that any jellyfish would survive that long in the wild. 正因如此, 不太可能有哪种水母可以在自然环境下生存那么久。
highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; unlikely:adj.不大可能发生的;非心目中的;非想象的;难以相信的;
And back to the yew here. 我们再回到紫杉这里。
So as you can see , it's in a churchyard; it's in Scotland. It's behind a protective wall. 大家能看到,她生长在一个教堂的院子里。 是在苏格兰。在一堵保护墙后面。
as you can see:正如你所看到的;你是知道的; protective:adj.防护的;关切保护的;保护贸易的;
And there are actually a number or ancient yews in churchyards around the U.K., but if you do the math , you'll remember it's actually the yew trees that were there first, then the churches. 还有些古杉树 生长在英国一些教堂的院子里。 但只要你算算,就会发现 事实上是紫杉先生长在那些地方,然后人们才在附近盖了教堂。
yews:n.[林]紫杉(yew的复数); churchyards:n.境内;教堂院落,多做墓地; you do the math:你自己来算一下;
And now down to another part of the world. 现在我们来看看另一个世界。
I had the opportunity to travel around the Limpopo Province in South Africa with an expert in Baobab trees. 我有幸有机会去了南非的林波波省 同行的是位猴面包树的专家。
Baobab:n.猴面包树(非洲产的一种巨树);
And we saw a number of them, and this is most likely the oldest. 我们看到了很多猴面包树, 这是其中最古老的了。
It's around 2,000, and it's called the Sagole Baobab. 大概2000岁。 名叫萨格尔猴面包树。
And you know, I think of all of these organisms as palimpsests . 而且我认为所有这些生物 都是生命史的缩写。
palimpsests:n.重写本;写在重写本上的;
They contain thousands of years of their own histories within themselves, and they also contain records of natural and human events. 他们有千万年的历史 就藏在它们体内, 同时,他们也记录着自然和人类的历史。
And the Baobabs in particular are a great example of this. 猴面包树 就是一个很好的例子。
Baobabs:n.猴面包树(非洲产的一种巨树); in particular:尤其,特别;
You can see that this one has names carved into its trunk, but it also records some natural events. 大家可以看见这棵树 的树干上刻有名字, 也记载着一些自然事件。
carved:v.雕刻;刻;把(熟肉)切成块;(carve的过去分词和过去式)
So the Baobabs, as they get older, tend to get pulpy in their centers and hollow out. 所以当这种树逐渐成长并衰老时, 树的中心部分也逐渐变得稀稠然后流出来。
pulpy:adj.果肉状的;泥状的;纸浆状的; hollow:n.孔; v.挖; adj.中空的; v.彻底;
And this can create great natural shelters for animals, but they've also been appropriated for some rather dubious human uses, including a bar, a prison and even a toilet inside of a tree. 这就形成了 动物们很好的栖身之所, 但是他们也被用在 一些不太体面的地方, 比如在酒吧里,监狱里 甚至用作树中的厕所。
appropriated:v.挪用;拨款;把…据为己有;顺手牵羊(appropriate的过去式); dubious:adj.可疑的;暧昧的;无把握的;半信半疑的;
And this brings me to another favorite of mine -- 现在我们来看看另一个我最喜欢的作品
I think, because it is just so unusual. 我认为是的,因为它太不同寻常了。
This plant is called the Welwitschia , and it lives only in parts of coastal Namibia and Angola, where it's uniquely adapted to collect moisture from mist coming off the sea. 这种植物叫做千岁兰, 它只生活在纳米比亚和安哥拉的部分临海区域, 在那里,它养成了独特的 收集海上雾气中水分的机能。
Welwitschia:n.千岁兰; coastal:adj.沿海的;海岸的; uniquely:adv.独特地;珍奇地; adapted:adj.适于…的; v.使适应,使适合; (adapt的过去分词和过去式) moisture:n.水分;湿度;潮湿;降雨量; mist:n.薄雾; v.(使)结满雾气(模糊不清);
And what's more, it's actually a tree. 还有,它其实是棵树。
It's a primitive conifer . 是一种原始的针叶树。
primitive:adj.原始的,远古的;简单的,粗糙的;n.原始人; conifer:n.针叶树;[植]松柏科植物;
You'll notice that it's bearing cones down the center. 大家会注意到它位于中下部的球果。
bearing:n.关系;影响;姿态;举止v.承受;忍受;承担责任;(bear的现在分词) cones:n.视锥细胞(cone的复数);锥形体;v.使成锥形;使成斜角(cone的三单形式);
And what looks like two big heaps of leaves, is actually two single leaves that get shredded up by the harsh desert conditions over time. 而看起来像两大堆叶子的部分, 实际上是两片叶子 只是被切割成现在这样 是长时间严酷的沙漠环境造成的。
shredded:adj.切碎的;v.变成碎片(shred的过去分词形式); harsh:adj.严厉的;严酷的;刺耳的;粗糙的;刺目的;
And it actually never sheds those leaves, so it also bears the distinction of having the longest leaves in the plant kingdom. 这些叶子从未脱落过, 所以千岁兰还有一个特质 就是有着最长的叶子 也就是植物界最长的叶子。
sheds:n.棚屋; v.把…放在棚内; distinction:n.区别;区分;差别;卓越;
I spoke to a biologist at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Capetown to ask him where he thought this remarkable plant came from, and his thought was that if you travel around Namibia, 我咨询过相关生物学家 是在开普敦的克斯顿波士植物园 问他 他觉得这一神奇的植物是从何而来的, 他认为 如果周游纳米比亚,
Botanical Garden:n.植物园; remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
you see that there are a number of petrified forests, and the logs are all -- the logs are all giant coniferous trees, and yet there's no sign of where they might have come from. 你会发现有一些化石化的丛林, 那些树木都是 都是巨大的针叶树, 但是却没有任何迹象表明它们是从哪来的。
petrified:adj.非常害怕; v.使吓呆; (petrify的过去分词和过去式) logs:n.日志;原木v.记录;把…载入正式记录;采伐树木;(logs是log的复数) coniferous:adj.结球果的;松柏科的;
So his thought was that flooding in the north of Africa actually brought those coniferous trees down tens of thousands of years ago, and what resulted was this remarkable adaptation to this unique desert environment. 所以他认为 非洲北部的洪水 携带这些针叶树种南下 千万年前, 造成了现在这种神奇的物种群 适应这一独特的沙漠气候条件。
adaptation:n.适应;改编;改编本,改写本;
This is what I think is the most poetic of the oldest living things. 我认为这就是这些最古老的现存生物最具有诗意的部分。
poetic:adj.诗的,诗歌的;诗意的;诗人的;n.诗学,诗论;
This is something called an underground forest. 这是被称作地下森林的植物。
So, I spoke to a botanist at the Pretoria Botanical Garden, who explained that certain species of trees have adapted to this region . 我咨询过比勒陀利亚植物园的植物学家, 他解释说一些特定种质的树木 已经适应了这一地区的气候。
botanist:n.植物学家; region:n.地区;范围;部位;
It's bushfelt region, which is dry and prone to a lot of fires, as so what these trees have done is, if you can imagine that this is the crown of the tree, and that this is ground level, imagine that the whole thing, that whole bulk of the tree, migrated underground, and you just have those leaves peeping up above the surface. 那一地区的低矮灌木区, 非常干燥而且容易受到火的侵袭, 所以这些树木所采取的办法 就是,大家可以把这个想像成整个树冠, 而且这也是地表, 大家想像整棵树 树的整个枝干, 都藏于地下, 而我们能看到的只是探出地面的树叶。
prone:adj.俯卧的;有…倾向的,易于…的; crown:王冠 bulk:n.大部分;主体;(大)体积;大(量);v.扩展;增大;堆积起来;形成大块; migrated:v.(随季节变化)迁徙;移居;迁移;移动;转移;(migrate的过去分词和过去式) peeping:n.偷窥;v.唧唧叫;窥探(peep的ing形式);
That way, when a fire roars through, it's the equivalent of getting your eyebrows singed . 这样的话,当大火肆虐之时, 就相当于只是烧焦了你的睫毛。
roars:n.怒吼; equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物; eyebrows:n.眉;眉毛;(eyebrow的复数) singed:烧毛;
The tree can easily recover. 树本身可以轻易的恢复。
These also tend to grow clonally , the oldest of which is 13,000 years old. 这种树木也趋向于无性繁殖, 其中最古老的有一万三千岁了。
clonally:adv.同源细胞地;无性繁殖系地;
Back in the U.S., there's a couple plants of similar age. 回到美国,也有些同等年纪的植物。
This is the clonal Creosote bush , which is around 12,000 years old. 这是无性繁殖的石灰酸灌木, 大概活了一万两千年了。
Creosote:vt.用木馏油处理;n.[林]木馏油;碳酸;杂芬油; bush:n.灌木; v.以灌木装饰; adj.如灌木般长得低矮的;
If you've been in the American West, you know the Creosote bush is pretty ubiquitous , but that being said, you see that this has this unique, circular form. 如果在美国西部, 大家都知道石灰酸灌木比较常见, 虽说如此,大家可以看到这个 呈现出它自己独特的圆形。
ubiquitous:adj.普遍存在的;无所不在的;
And what's happening is it's expanding slowly outwards from that original shape. 事实情况是它缓慢地向外扩张生长 始于最初的一个型态。
expanding:v.扩大,增加,增强细谈;详述;(expand的现在分词) outwards:adv.向外地; original:n.原件;原作;原物;原型;adj.原始的;最初的;独创的;新颖的;
And it's one -- again, that interconnected root system, making it one genetically identical individual. 而且还是一个,又是一个,互相联系的根系, 这就说明它是一个有着相同基因的个体。
It also has a friend nearby -- well, I think they're friends. 在它附近还有个朋友 我觉得他们是朋友。
nearby:adj.附近的,邻近的;adv.在附近;prep.在…附近;
This is the clonal Mojave yucca , it's about a mile away, and it's a little bit older than 12,000 years. 这是一株无性繁殖的莫哈韦丝兰,离开大概一英里远, 它略大于一万两千岁。
Mojave:n.莫哈韦沙漠(在美国加利福尼亚西南); yucca:n.丝兰;
And you see it has that similar circular form. 大家可以看见它也有着相似的圆圈形状。
And there's some younger clones dotting the landscape behind it. 还有些年轻点的无性繁殖体 星星点点分布在后面.
clones:n.无性繁殖系个体; v.复制(clone的单三形式); landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
And both of these, the yucca and the Creosote bush, live on Bureau of Land Management land, and that's very different from being protected in a national park . 而它们两个,丝兰和石灰酸灌木, 都生活在国土管理局的土地上, 这与生长在受保护的国家公园中有很大的不同。
Bureau:n.局,处;衣柜;办公桌; Management:n.管理;管理人员;管理部门;操纵;经营手段; national park:n.国家公园;
In fact, this land is designated for recreational all-terrain vehicle use. 事实上,这片土地是供 娱乐性的山地越野车使用的。
designated:adj.派定的;v.命名;指定;标明;指明;(designate的过去式和过去分词) recreational:adj.娱乐的,消遣的;休养的; all-terrain:全地形; vehicle:n.[车辆]车辆;工具;交通工具;运载工具;传播媒介;媒介物;
So, now I want to show what very well might be the oldest living thing on the planet. 现在我想展示给大家看很有可能是 地球上最古老的现存生物。
This is Siberian Actinobacteria, which is between 400,000 and 600,000 years old. 就是西伯利亚放线菌, 大约在40万岁 到60万岁之间。
Siberian:adj.西伯利亚(人)的;来自西伯利亚的;
This bacteria was discovered several years ago by a team of planetary biologists hoping to find clues to life on other planets by looking at one of the harshest conditions on ours. 这种细菌仅在几年前才被人发现 是一组行星生物学家发现的 他们希望借此发现其他行星上生物的踪迹 研究了我们地球上最严酷的环境下的生物。
bacteria:n.[微]细菌; planetary:adj.行星的; clues:n.(调查,研究等的)线索;迹象;(故事的)关键情节;(clue的复数) harshest:刺耳的(harsh的最高级);
And what they found, by doing research into the permafrost , was this bacteria. 他们针对永久冻土层进行了研究,发现了 这种细菌。
permafrost:n.永久冻土,永久冻地;永久冻结带;永久冰冻;
But what's unique about it is that it's doing DNA repair below freezing. 而它的特别之处就在于 它在零度以下仍进行DNA修补。
repair:v.修理;修补;修缮;补救;n.修理;修补;修缮;
And what that means is that it's not dormant -- it's actually been living and growing for half a million years. 这就意味着它并未休眠。 而是一直存活并生长着 持续50万年。
dormant:adj.休眠的;静止的;睡眠状态的;隐匿的;
It's also probably one the most vulnerable of the oldest living things, because if the permafrost melts , it won't survive. 它可能也是最脆弱的生物 是所有这些最古老的存活生物中最脆弱的, 因为如果永久冻土层融化, 它将不能存活。
vulnerable:adj.易受攻击的,易受…的攻击;易受伤害的;有弱点的; melts:n.[冶]熔体(melt的复数);v.熔化(melt的第三人称单数形式);
This is a map that I've put together of the oldest living things, so you can get a sense of where they are; you see they're all over the world. 这是一张我把所有最古老的现存生物放到一起来看的地图, 这样大家就能看到它们的分布;可见是遍布世界各地。
put together:..放在一起;组合;装配;
The blue flags represent things that I've already photographed, and the reds are places that I'm still trying to get to. 蓝色的旗子代表我已经拍了照片的生物, 红色旗代表我要去的地方。
represent:v.代表;表现;描绘;回忆;再赠送;
You'll see also, there's a flag on Antarctica. 如大家所见,在南极洲也有面旗。
I'm trying to travel there to find 5,000 year-old moss, which lives on the Antarctic Peninsula . 我正准备去那里 寻找五千年的苔藓, 它生活在南极半岛上。
Antarctic:adj.南极(地方)的;n.南极地区;网络释义:南极的;南极区;南极地带的; Peninsula:n.半岛;
So, I probably have about two more years left on this project -- on this phase of the project, but after five years, 所以,我大概还剩下两年的时间 留给这个项目 或者说这个项目的这一阶段, 但是经历了五年时间,
phase:n.阶段;时期;月相;(月亮的)盈亏;v.分阶段进行;逐步做;
I really feel like I know what's at the heart of this work. 我真的感到我理解了这项工作的核心。
The oldest living things in the world are a record and celebration of our past, a call to action in the present and a barometer of our future. 世界上最古老的现存生物 是对我们过去的记录,是庆祝, 是对现在行动起来的号召 也是我们将来的晴雨表。
barometer:n.[气象]气压计;晴雨表;显示变化的事物;
They've survived for millennia in desert, in the permafrost, at the tops of mountains and at the bottom of the ocean. 它们存活了上千年 在沙漠中,永久冻土层中, 在群山之巅或是汪洋之底。
millennia:n.千年期(millennium的复数);一千年;千年庆典;太平盛世;
They've withstood untold natural perils and human encroachments , but now some of them are in jeopardy , and they can't just get up and get out of the way. 它们战胜了 难言的自然灾害和人类的侵害, 但是现在它们中的一些处于危机之中, 而它们不能简单地站起来,逃出去。
withstood:v.抵挡,经得起(withstand的过去分词); untold:adj.数不清的;未说过的;未透露的;无限的; perils:n.事故;风险(peril的复数);v.冒险;置…于危险中(peril的第三人称单数); encroachments:n.侵入,侵犯;侵蚀; jeopardy:n.危险;(被告处于被判罪或受处罚的)危险境地;
It's my hope that, by going to find these organisms, that I can help draw attention to their remarkable resilience and help play a part in insuring their continued longevity into the foreseeable future. 我希望,通过去寻找这些生物, 我可以吸引大家对他们的注意 关注它们非凡的适应能力 尽自己所能地确保 它们在我们可预见的将来继续长命百岁。
draw attention to:吸引对;吸引注意力;指出;对; resilience:n.恢复力;弹力;顺应力; insuring:保险;投保; foreseeable:adj.可预知的;能预测的;
Thank you. 谢谢大家。
(Applause) （掌声）